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THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST 



[May 2, 1887, 



be made. Meantime, let us congratulate Mr. 

 TwynHm and Capt. Donnan as well as the Gov- 

 ernor and all the inhabitants of the Colony on the 

 gratifying success of the Jubilee Year Pearl Fishehy. 



Slavery in Brazil. — The Centre Abolicionista of 

 Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, is proposing to 

 inaugurate a popular subscription for the liberation 

 of all the slaves in that province, which it is thought 

 do not exceed 10,000. -Eio Neics. 



Mysore Gold Mines.— Last month (i74 tons 7 

 ewt. of ore were crushed by the Mysore Gold Mining 

 Company and gave 90(5 3-5th oz. of gold. The 

 Nundydroog Company crushed 05 tons of ore in 

 February and March, and obtained .'J4i oz. of gold. 

 —jW. Mail, April 9th. 



A New Industry. — Mr. Evenor de Chazal, who 

 is always foremost in advancing Colonial Industry, 

 has just obtained the authority of the General Board 

 to work a factory in St. Georges Street for the 

 preparation of wine (boistion rineuse). We have at 

 present no particulars as to the process, but we 

 are told that it is calculated to be the means of 

 producing a step in advance to colonial industry. 

 We sincerely wish Mr. de Chazal every success 

 in his enterprize. 



"Strophantus" is apparently the latest im- 

 portant addition to the " Pharmacopoeia " and Mr. 

 Neil S. Campbell has been sending the first sjieci- 

 men pods to the island, ore of which has been 

 sent to our ofKce. Strophantus is described by 

 competent authority as a great improvement on 

 digitalis, for its influence over the heart — in- 

 creasing blood tension, producing diuresis, and 

 reducing temperature. The plant, the seeds of 

 which are used is " Strophantus hispidus " which 

 is widely distributed in Equatorial Africa. 



That Cofffe Trading Cojipany has at last been 

 organized in Campinas, S. Paulo. The name is to 

 be " Sociedade Anonyma Coaperativa dos Interesses 

 da Lavoura " and the capital is 1,000,000$. It is 

 needless to predict the result. We regret to notice 

 the suicide, on the morning of the 19th, of Mr. 

 S. A. Herforth. Mr. Herforth was a partner in 

 the late firm of Kern, Hayn & Co., which become 

 seriously embarrassed through unfortunate coffee 

 operations some two years ago. Mr. Hayn com- 

 mitted suicide about a year ago, and Mr. Kern 

 was, and possibly still is, confined in an insane 

 asylum. Coffee has a good deal to answer for. — 

 Rio News. 



Curing Cocoa. — The following advice on cocoa 

 fermenting occurs in a report on .Jamaica economic 

 plants, probably by Mr. Morris : has it been tried 

 in Ceylon ? : — 



A very simple means by which the procesa of fer- 

 noeutation may be set up in small quantilies of the 

 ' nibs,' is to put them into an empty kerosine tin or 

 'pan,' and then place them in the full sun, taking care 

 to cover the opening clo.se with a thick cloth, so that 

 the sun, striking on the outside of the tin, raise.s the 

 teinperature. Two, or at mot-t three, days i.s sufficient 

 for this purpose ; they should then he carefully waslied 

 with clean water until all the adhering mucilage has 

 di.sappeared, then thoroughly dried in the sun. Cocoa 

 dried by ihi.s method brings a much larger price than 

 that sent to market without fermentation, and the 

 practice is one by which small cultivators could not 

 fail to be largely benefited were it made known among 

 them by clergjmen and others who come into frequent 

 contact with the people." 



The Tallow Trke ok China. — Vegetable fats and 

 wax have long been known, but it is only recently 

 that the above has attracted the attention of the 

 soap manufacturing fraternity. It is cheaper than 

 fiiiiinal tallow, and in said to bp capable of producing 



very good soap. The tree wliich yielis it is a native 

 of China, and it is from the kernel of the fruit, say« 

 the Tcck/iisehe Sei/ensii'der, that the tallow and oil 

 are obtained. A thick layer of fallow envelopes the 

 nut, which also contains a yellowish aromatic oil, 

 used for heating and other purposes. "When the fruit 

 is gathered, hot water is poured over it, which is 

 allowed to cool, and the tallow which has congealed 

 on the surface is easily removed, after which it ig 

 again carefully melted, and run into moulds, ready 

 for the market. It possesses a peculiar odour, which 

 is not unpleasant, is crj-stalline, ot a greenish colour, and 

 melts at 40°. — Jiurgoyne Burbidges. 



A Water Plant Catching Fr.sH.— The blad- 

 ders of the curious water weed — Utricularia— still 

 occupy the attention of the curious in the OM World. 

 The fact that these bladders caught living things was 

 first observed in this country by Mrs. Mary Treat, 

 of Vinelaud, N. J. ; but the fact does not seem to 

 have attracted the same wonderment in America as 

 in the Old World, where it is a continuous topic 

 with newspaper writers. The bladders are very small, 

 not much larger than small bird shot, and when the 

 magazines which love to put the sensational into 

 scientific topics talk about the plant being a dangeioua 

 enemy to the fi.sh culturist, we have to make all due 

 allowances. Very small fish are caught, and larger 

 ones, as Professor Mosely says, held h\ the tail till 

 they die ; but these unfortunates will be but a small 

 portion of those that would be caught and eaten by 

 the larger fish. Very few of the immense number 

 spawned reach maturity, plentiful though the stock 

 may seem to the fisherman. For what purpose the 

 bladders catch the animalcul;e and minute creatures 

 is not known, if, indeed, there is any special purpose 

 of this kind. Professor Mosely snys that it has not 

 been found that there is any digestive operation poing 

 on, as it is believed there is in some of the carnivorous 

 plants, more properly so called. — Itide'pendeiit. 



Our Pearl Oyster Beds. — We read : — The 

 forty years' experience of Messrs. Barnett & Foster, 

 Forston Street, London, as manufacturers of sub- 

 marine appliances of all kinds was exemplified in 

 a display of divers' dresses and equipments, at- 

 mospheric engmes, compressing-pump^, and safety- 

 lamps. The last-named exhibit was certainly the 

 novelty of the display, and carried the palm in 

 point of interest. Foster & Fleuss's new lamp, 

 broadly described, is a modification of Foster's 

 submarine lamp, being, so far as the production 

 of the lights is concerned, an adaptation of the 

 well-known lime-light. The lamp may be said to 

 consist of two parts, the lower portion or bottom 

 comprising the gas reservoir ; while the upper 

 portion forms a sort of double hood, nearly one 

 inch apart, which is tilled with water to keep the 

 lamp cool for mining purposes, and which screws 

 on to the lower part, so as to form an air-tight 

 joint. Shortly prior to the invention of this lamp 

 Messrs. Barnett it Foster patented a new diving- 

 apparatus, which entirely dispenses with pumps, 

 tubes, and all extraneous arrangements. Together 

 these inventions represent the most noteworthy 

 advance in this direction of modern times ; while 

 at the same time they mark an important revolu- 

 tion in the theory and practice of submarine ex- 

 ploration. Provided with these truly invaluable 

 appliances, it is possible for a man to continue 

 to work for several hours at a time without any 

 communication with the external atmosphere, 

 thereby justifying the hope and belief that, with 

 further practice and experience, the new principle 

 may be largely applied in explosing and recover- 

 ing life after colliery explosions. — Homi' Paper. 

 [By means of such apparatus we ought to obtain 

 better knowledge than we possess of the laws 

 which rule the life and progress of the pearl shells, 

 so that the regular cultivation may yet be rendered 

 possible, — Ei>.] 



